In what is being described as one of the worst aviation disasters in recent memory, a London-bound Air India Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner crashed shortly after takeoff from Ahmedabad on Thursday, killing at least 260 on board and in the area impacted by the crash.
While most of the passengers were Indian, the aircraft was also carrying 53 Britons, seven Portuguese, and a Canadian. The lone survivor, Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, is a British national of Indian origin and currently receiving treatment for severe burn injuries.
While authorities have launched a high-level investigation, here’s a look at how leading newspapers in India and the UK reported the crash on their front pages.
UK
‘Miracle Brit in Seat 11A’ was The Sun’s headline on its front page, with a picture of the aircraft crash in the background and a smaller picture of an injured Ramesh. One of the subheadings read, ‘241 die as jet to UK crashes in flames’.
The Daily Mail’s frontpage headline was ‘I don’t know how I'm alive’, with a picture of Ramesh and his flight ticket. The strap read, “After at least 290 people – including 52 Britons – are killed in horrifying Air India crash, stunned disbelief of the Leicester man who’s the sole survivor’
‘Brit is only survivor of Flight 171’ was Metro’s front page headline with a picture of Ramesh, along with pictures of the Air India flight taking off, catching fire and a part of plane crashed into a building.
The Guardian’s front page headline read: At least 260 die as plane on way to UK crashes in India. It also featured pictures of the flight and Ramesh.
‘Crash leaves sole survivor’ was the headline on the front page of The Times, along with pictures of the aircraft's takeoff, crash and eventual ruin. It also carried a small picture of Ramesh.
‘More than 240 die as Air India flight crashes in Gujarat following take-off’ was the front page headline of the Financial Times.
The Daily Telegraph’s front page headline was ‘The miracle of seat 11A’ with a large picture of Ramesh and smaller pictures of the aircraft taking off, descending and then exploding.
India
‘A-I plane with 242 crashes, 1 survivor’ was the headline on the front page of The Indian Express. It had stories linked to the death of former Gujarat CM Vijay Rupani, a couple who were planning a new start in London, the medical students who died as the plane crashed into a hostel, and the lone survivor.
The Times of India’s front page headline read, ‘Dreamlines Nightmare Kills 245’. The entire front page was dedicated to stories related to the crash.
‘AI flight with 242 on board crashes in Ahmedabad’ was The Hindu’s frontpage headline. It also carried stories of Rupani’s death and of the casualties on the ground.
The Economic Times’s frontpage headline read, ‘Descent into tragedy’ with a picture of the crash in the background.
‘Dreamliner Disaster’, read the Hindustan Times’s front page headline. The newspaper dedicated the rest of its front page to coverage related to the crash.
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